History of Journalism

Journalism Time Line
1608 First English reporter in  the colonies, Captain John Smith, leader of the Jamestown settlement, publishes his newsletter Newes from Virginia 1690 First American newspaper, Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick, is published in Boston 1721 The New England Courant, published by Ben Franklin’s older brother James, is first to offer readers literature in addition to news 1727 First local correspondents report news from nearby communities, in the New England Weekly Journal 1729 Ben Franklin makes the Pennsylvania Gazette the best newspaper in the colonies, with the largest circulation, most pages, highest income from advertising, and the most literary columns 1750 Fourteen weekly newspapers are read in the six most populated colonies 1768-1769 Patriot Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty spread news items about the British to newspapers through the “Journal of Occurrences” 1769 Printing presses are made in America by Isaac Doolittle of Connecticut 1776 The Boston paper the Massachusetts Spy supports the movement for independence and publishes an eyewitness account of the first battle of the American Revolution Colonial newspapers reprint Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense, encouraging colonists to revolt against the British Less than a month after its approval, more than 20 newspapers carry the full text of the Declaration of Independence, spreading word of the cause of freedom across the new United States 1783 First daily newspaper, the Pennsylvania Evening Post, appears 1791 First Amendment to the Constitution, protecting freedom of the press and other freedoms, is approved 1795 Reporters allowed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate 1800 Twenty-one newspapers are published in the new West, beyond the Appalachian Mountains 1800-1830 Quarterly, monthly, and weekly magazines begin to appear 1808 First Spanish-language paper, El Misisipí, published in New Orleans 1811 Niles’ Weekly Register, first news magazine, appears 1814 Congress says that at least two newspapers in each state and territory must print laws passed for the nation 1827 Reporters from three newspapers become the first Washington correspondents, beginning continuous coverage of the Congress to this day 1828 First Native American paper, the Cherokee Phoenix, appears, printed partly in English and partly in Cherokee 1830s Pigeons and the pony express carry news from distant points 1833 The New York Sun becomes the first “people’s” or “penny” paper, selling on the street for just one cent 1835 The New York Herald introduces new newspaper sections devoted to money, sports, society news, letters, and reviews and publishes “extras” or special editions to cover significant news 1841 Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune offers readers views on many issues 1851 The New York Times is founded 1840s Railroads and steamships carry news items quickly and are used to distribute newspapers mid-1840s Telegraph used to convey news at a distance 1849 Groups of newspapers band together to support a news-gathering service that will supply foreign news by ship and telegraph; the group later becomes the Associated Press (AP) 1856 First African-American daily, the New Orleans Daily Creole, is published 1861-1865 Hundreds of photographers, including the well-known war photographer Mathew Brady, are issued passes to cover the Civil War Reporters in the field develop the summary lead to make sure that the main point of their story gets through by telegraph Papers begin to bulletin highlights of the war action as headlines 1870-1900 Population of the United States doubles; city population triples; number of daily newspapers quadruples Editorial staff at big-city daily newspapers grows and becomes more specialized, with an emphasis on reporting More women work at newspapers, as correspondents, editors, and writers Telephones and typewriters change the way work is done in the newsroom Cables linking the United States to England and parts of Asia make news gathering faster Newspaper publishing becomes a major business in the United States 1870s-1880s New magazines treat readers to high-quality literature, humor, and discussion and debate of political issues 1880-1900 Bigger and faster presses are developed to print more copies of papers in less time in order to meet tighter deadlines and serve the growing number of readers Photographs begin to appear in newspapers Number of African-American papers increases 1890s Sensationalism, known as yellow journalism, is used to win papers more readers 1893 Color is used for comics and other parts of Sunday editions 1900-1925 Political cartoons offer commentary on the news in many newspapers 1907-1909 United Press Association and the International News Service compete with the Associated Press in gathering news from around the world 1917 Ethnic papers reach a peak with 1,323 foreign-language publications 1910-1914 Number of newspapers in the United States reaches a high, with 2,600 dailies and about 14,000 weeklies published 1920s Radio and movies begin to compete with newspapers and magazines for people’s time and attention Many newspapers begin to include political columns 1930s Personalized or “gossip” columns appear for the first time in papers Picture magazines such as Life become extremely popular and provide greater opportunities for photojournalists 1930s-1940s Newsreels shown at movie houses before or after the feature film offer a new view of the news 1950s People begin to turn to television for the news 1960s “Underground” and alternative papers and magazines rebel against and criticize established papers and the country’s political and social structure Variety of newspapers serving the Latino community are founded 1960-1990 Investigative reporters uncover information about the activities of the government and other groups and offer interpretations of events and issues, such as organized crime, the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, and Iran-contra 1970s-1980s Computers begin to change the process of producing a newspaper 1980s Number of daily papers decreases because of increase in the price of newsprint and in supply costs, rising pay, loss of advertising to television, and general decline in advertising Four press associations or news agencies—the Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse—provide more than 90 percent of all international news 1990 Newspaper groups own most of the daily papers in the United States, with Gannett, Knight-Ridder, Newhouse, New York Times, Dow Jones, and Thomson the five largest groups, in terms of number of dailies owned 1990s Reporters are able to file stories from around the world immediately using lap-top computers and modems or via satellite
FAQs about Journalism in the United States What were colonial newspapers like? Most colonial papers had four pages, measuring about 10 by 15 inches. They did not have headlines and contained no illustrations, except for the printer’s trademark (known as a colophon) and a few woodcuts that went along with advertisements. The paper used for colonial newspapers was made in England from rags.How were colonial newspapers printed?Until 1769 colonial papers were printed on printing presses imported from England. Each page was printed as follows. First, the type was set by hand and locked in a form. The bed of the press was rolled out, and the type was placed on it. Ink was applied to the type. The paper was moistened in a trough and placed over the type. Then the bed was rolled back under the press, and the platen or pressure plate was pressed against the type from above. When the platen was released, the bed was rolled out again, and the paper was removed and hung on a wire to dry. When it was dry, it was run through the press again, this time with the type for the reverse side of the page.How quickly could people get news during the Revolutionary War? Communications were not very advanced during this period. Much news traveled by word of mouth; that is, from one person to the next. News of the battles at Lexington and Concord that began the war, for example, did not reach the southern colony of Georgia until six weeks after the event.Where did Americans get paper for printing newspapers during the Revolutionary War?There were paper mills in the new United States, but they could not meet the demand for paper. Paper was made from linen and other cloth. George Washington, the American commander in chief, made a special plea to women to save cloth to be made into paper.What is freedom of the press?The First Amendment of the Constitution protects the freedom to share and spread ideas not only in newspapers, books, magazines but also on the radio and television. It protects information from being censored or restricted by the government before it is published or broadcast. There are some limits, though. Written or published statements that damage a person’s reputation or endanger the nation’s safety are not protected by freedom of the press.How did printing change in the 1800s?Improvements were made to the printing press so that parts moved automatically and both sides of the paper could be printed at the same time. Steam began to be used to power presses and made printing much faster. How much did newspapers cost before there were penny papers?Before penny papers, a few big city papers sold for about six cents a copy, but most papers were sold by subscription. Subscribers would pay $6-$10 for a year in advance. Only the wealthy could afford to get the paper. The average worker made less than $6-$10 a week, and most people could not afford to pay a lump sum in advance.How were photographs finally printed in newspapers? A process known as photoengraving was developed in the 1860s and 1870s. The dark and light parts of a photograph were separated, and points for each were laid out on a plate. Points for dark areas were placed closed together, and points for light areas were spaced out. The ink used in printing transferred each point to paper. The engraved reproduction of the photograph was called a halftone.What is sensationalism?Sensationalism is a way of attracting interest in something by appealing to the emotions or senses instead of to reason or the mind. News of violence and detailed accounts of people’s personal lives or private affairs are two examples of sensationalism in journalism.What are underground papers?The “underground” papers, published mostly in the 1960s, were unofficial papers produced by small, sometimes new groups with special interests. Most were critical of recognized papers and the accepted ideas and ways   of the times. Indonesian Journalism Ideally, western journalists would be impartial or having non-partisan position. They are reporting and presenting factual news without taking any sides. While in Indonesia, journalists had gone through some stages. In the 50s-80s, they were politically involved, aligned with certain political parties. They were called activist journalist. In 80s-90s, they were more into business and economic system, and news media was seen as business organization. In 2000s, activist journalists are back, and they are adopting western standard. New Order The Indonesian Press has been very closely linked with the political situation and power at the time, ever since the nation’s declaration of independence through the radio by Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta in 1945, who became the nation’s first President and Vice-President respectively. The following year the nation’s journalistic agency, PWI, was born. The PWI’s main goal is to address the problem of political bias and provide norms and guidance for professional journalistic practices. However, in the 1950’s most newspaper could be directly or indirectly classified as mouthpiece to various political and ideological parties. To counter this, President Sukarno then abandoned the liberal western democracy and adopted the guided democracy system and demanded PWI and the press to act under government direction and to promote Indonesian ‘values’ and the Pancasila ideology. Various government regulations were issued to eliminate opposition and to instruct journalists to support Sukarno’s political manifesto. In 1966 General Soeharto launched a take over, signaling the start of a new political order which lasted for 32 years. Under the New Order, government control over the press became even stricter by using the Department of Information to exert control of the press and PWI; newspapers and all publications were closely monitored and controlled, crushing what little remains of the press freedom. During this time, PWI membership became mandatory to all journalists and only approved members can become editors or publishers. There were widespread corruption and unethical practices within the press community, such as the ‘telephone culture’, where editors of publications received a warning telephone call from the Department of Information if they published unflattering articles about the government or Soeharto’s family; and then there is also the ‘envelope culture’, which is basically monetary bribe given by government officials to journalists to publish or cover a story supporting the government. These two cultures have been a thorn within the press community because they impede the quality and integrity of journalists, however more often than not; the press community has to participate in order to survive, especially with the ‘envelope culture’ where the salary of a journalist can barely cover daily needs. Many journalistic organizations were disbanded by the government, until only PWI remains; and with its structure dominated by governmental people, PWI became the mouth piece for the government. In June 1994, three major news publications, Detik, Tempo, and Editor, were permanently closed and their licences revoked by the Department of Information for publishing controversial articles which were critical towards the government. These closures provoke protests and demonstrations from various non-governmental organizations and from the society. Seeing the PWI as failing to stand up for the press community, a few weeks after the banning, a group of 85 journalists and intellectuals created a rival organization, AJI. This new organization, AJI, is fundamentally different from its government-controlled counterpart. Officially PWI serves as association of journalists, but many of its members are also members of political parties, mainly Soeharto’s political party Golkar, and acted as political agents against differing ideology such as communism. AJI is mainly a journalistic organization with no affiliation with any political ideology other than that of the freedom of the press. Since the government only recognize one official organization, AJI, operated illegally. The government and PWI continually put more pressure on AJI, arresting many of its members and threatening anyone or any publication that sympathizes with them, such as the case where PWI withdrew its support for the editor of D&R magazine for employing AJI members. Under heavy pressure, many AJI members were forced to resign from their jobs or transferred to distant position and location, and some were arrested for spreading anti-government views and distributing unlicensed publication. However some AJI journalists managed to continue to work and write using different name, and many of its members also found a loophole in the form of internet publishing. Post New Order After the collapse of the New Order regime, the political situation is much more hectic, with many differing political parties vying for power and influence. The Indonesian Press community, especially PWI, is also busy to adapt with the newly received freedom and to re-establish its image as an agent of change for the society instead of as an agent of stability for the government. In October 1998, PWI elected new executive and senior editors to try to separate itself from the New Order image. Different ideologies started to emerge and voicing their values through any media publications willing. Rules and regulations on media journalistic industry were reviewed, and AJI was officiated. Private tv channels are now more transparent, not controlled by Soeharto’s family anymore and media licensing to set up and publish newspaper, radio station and tv station is more public. Because of these changes, though government is more lenient, it is now the community groups (religious group, ethnicity group etc) that have the voice. Self-censorship comes from these particular groups. [Source: M. Emery, E. Emery, with N. L. Roberts, The Press and America: An Interpretive History of the Mass Media, 8th ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1996) [Source: M. Emery, E. Emery, with N. L. Roberts, The Press and America: An Interpretive History of the Mass Media, 8th ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1996)] http://www.writesite.org/html/tracing.html http://censorship.wikidot.com/indonesian-journalism-censorship